


With You By My Side

by astrocosmos



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, M/M, Oikawa Tooru's Knee Injury, Shiratorizawa, aoba johsai, au where seijou goes to nationals, someone had to do it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-29 22:43:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12095043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrocosmos/pseuds/astrocosmos
Summary: Oikawa lets the adrenaline take over him, ignoring the throbbing protests in his knee. He sprints to the spot where the volleyball is falling, falling in a way that makes time slow all around him until it is all he can see. Oikawa knows this is it. He can feel it in bones that this is the point that will make or break their dream.So he calls out to the person who is his dream.





	With You By My Side

_One more set._

He felt a bead of sweat slide down his face as he closed his eyes, chest heaving to catch his breath. He was excruciatingly aware of every muscle, every joint, every fiber of his body as it ached. He was even more aware of the throbbing in his right knee.

Oikawa Tooru did not spend his entire high school career giving everything to volleyball, just to be stopped by his damn injury. An injury that he had gotten only because he wanted to get to where he was now, on the court a set away from defeating Shiratorizawa and going to nationals. His knee could go to hell for all he cared.

A strong hand gripped his shoulder.

"Oi, Shittykawa."

Oikawa opened his eyes and focused his gaze on his ace, standing in front of him with a face pulled tight in concern.

"Iwa-chan, if you keep frowning like that you'll get wrinkles and then no one will love you!" Oikawa chirped, but his voice lacked its usual light tone. Iwaizumi's frown deepened.

"Shut up before I hit you."

"So mean Iwa-chan! Is that any way to treat your captain?"

Iwaizumi sighed, his shoulders dropping. He slid his hand down to Oikawa's forearm and squeezed it gently.

"Is everything okay? You look more exhausted than usual. Is it your knee?"

Oikawa willed himself to not tense up at the (correct) accusation. He couldn't let Iwaizumi know his knee was bothering him. He would tell Coach, and then Oikawa would find himself with a oneway ticket to the bench.

They would lose.

Oikawa forced himself to keep his expression neutral. Iwaizumi would know if he lied, he was the rare exception to Oikawa's staged smiles. Anyone else would have fallen for it in a heartbeat. Years of friendship left them mentally linked, two halves of a whole. While he was beyond grateful for this, he did wish he could get away with a lie at times. The best he could do was avoid the direct question and offer enough reassurance to get Iwaizumi to drop the subject.

"You're right, I am tired. But the same could be said for you or Makki or Mattsun, no? The first two sets were longer than we're used too. It's only natural to feel more worn out." Oikawa shrugged.

Iwaizumi couldn't argue against this. The first two sets _were_ abnormally long. 38-36 Shiratorizawa, and 43-41, them. The battle for a two point lead had taken it's toll on both teams.

"That's true but-" Iwaizumi started.

Oikawa interrupted him, "Don't worry Iwa-chan. We won't let that stop us from winning, right? We've worked too hard to let something like fatigue tear us down, yeah?"

Iwaizumi studied him for a moment.

"Yeah, right, okay. Just let me know if something's bothering you. You're not fighting by yourself, remember? There are-"

Oikawa smiles, "There are six players on a volleyball court, yes Iwa-chan, I'm well aware. How could I not remember that bloody nose you gave me?"

Iwaizumi snorts, flicking Oikawa's forehead, "You deserved it, dumbass."

He's about to protest that _he most certainly did not need to be abused for Iwaizumi to get his point across_ when the whistle blows, signaling the beginning of the third and final set.

Their expressions harden, and Iwaizumi nods his head at Oikawa.

"Let's win this together, Captain."

He flashes Iwaizumi a sly grin, "I'll accept nothing less, my ace."

And they stepped onto the court side by side for the what would hopefully not be the last time.

______________________________

  
24-23, Aoba Johsai.

This could be it.

If they could score one more point, they'd claim victory. They'd get a one way ticket to nationals. The dreams he and Iwaizumi had longed for since childhood would become reality.

Oikawa Tooru knew if he had gone to Shiratorizawa, as that jerk Ushiwaka liked to remind him, he'd have been at nationals every year since the beginning of high school. He would have stood on the court in Tokyo, representing Miyagi, battling teams just as strong, if not stronger, than his own. He would have had more scouts from colleges, and more people would know of his talents as a setter. He would have more on his record to support his goal of making the national team.

But none of that meant anything if his best friend was not at his side.

Oikawa did not want to stand on the national court if Iwaizumi was not with him. He did not want to be scouted. He did not want fame. He did not want to win. He did not want to do _anything_ if he could not share it with the person he loved most. Because Iwaizumi was always with him, and he sure as hell would give up anything to assure he always would be.

So he declined Shiratorizawa's offers, and he followed his best friend towards a school that promised them more years together.

Naturally, the final point would have to belong to them two.

But the universe laughed at Oikawa Tooru, mocking his hopes and dreams as his knee gave out just as he tried to jump to set the winning point towards his ace. He collapsed onto the ground, eyes widening at the sound of the ball making impact with the floor. Everything seemed to still, and the gymnasium fell silent. Oikawa felt the pain vibrate throughout his entire body, the beat of his quickened pulse echoing in his head.

Iwaizumi was beside him in an instant.

He was saying something, what was he saying? Oikawa couldn't hear him. Oikawa couldn't hear anything over the sound of his own heartbeat. He just stared at the ball, willing time to reverse. Begging it to go back into the air, and land on the opposite side of the net.

" _Please_ ," he whispered. Only Iwaizumi heard him.

"Tooru," Iwaizumi choked out again. He gripped Oikawa's arm like he might disappear if he let go, shaking him more and more desperately the longer he remained unresponsive.

Oikawa blinked, and his surroundings rushed back to him at full force.

"Yeah, Iwa-chan?"

"Are you okay? You fell, you idiot. It's your knee isn't it? I knew you were lying to me. You can't push yourself like this Tooru. How many times do I have to beat it into that head of yours that you're going to permanently damage-"

Oikawa cut him off again, "Iwa-chan, what's the score?"

Iwaizumi frowned, "24-24, but that's not the point-"

"The team that drops the ball loses, Iwa-chan. But we haven't lost yet, and I won't walk off this court until the game is over, win or lose."

Iwaizumi growls, "That won't matter if you hurt yourself in the process dumbass."

"I'm not sitting out."

"You are."

"No!" Oikawa snaps, banging his fist onto the ground. Iwaizumi's stern gaze wavers.

_"Please Hajime."_

Iwaizumi tightens his grip on Oikawa's arms at the sound of his first name. The desperation and pleading in those words echoing through his head. He knows he will regret this later.

But he stands, and offers his hand down to his best friend. Oikawa takes it, allowing himself to be pulled upright. Iwaizumi doesn't miss the way he winces at the pressure on his right knee. He squeezes his hand a little tighter.

"Everything alright?" The referee questions.

Oikawa grins in his direction and throws up a peace sign,"Yup! Everything's A-okay!"

One look at his teammates makes it known they are not convinced. He smiles at them anyways.

"I believe in you all."

"We believe in you, Captain."

And they are the support that his knee brace could never be, lifting his hopes once more as they turned to claim victory.

_If you're going to hit it, hit it until it breaks._

And he would. He would push his knee to the breaking point if it meant he could spend more time on the court with his team, if it promised he could continue to play with Iwaizumi by his side.

__________________________________

 

29-28, Aoba Johsai.

It's their set point again.

Oikawa lets the adrenaline take over him, ignoring the throbbing protests in his knee. He sprints to the spot where the volleyball is falling, falling in a way that makes time slow all around him until it is all he can see. Oikawa knows this is it. He can feel it in bones that this is the point that will make or break their dream.

So he calls out to the person who is his dream.

_"HAJIME!"_

And Hajime meets him where he is, as he always has. He hits his set with undeniable trust, as he always has.

And Oikawa trusts him to make their dreams come true.

The volleyball breaks past Ushijima's block. He watches it with wide eyes as it slams to the ground, and bounces, again and again.

The whistle blows.

It's over.

_They won._

And everyone is yelling. Oikawa feels his legs shake, knee too weak to support him any longer. But before he can fall, Iwaizumi is there, picking him up by the waist and squeezing him in a hug. He feels tears staining his jersey where Iwaizumi had buried his face. And holy shit Iwa-chan's crying, loud sobs vibrating throughout his entire body. But then Oikawa realizes he's crying too, and he clutches Iwaizumi even tighter than before.

 _"Iwa-chan,"_ __ __ __he chokes.

_"Oikawa."_

Their foreheads touch, eyes focused only on each other.

_"Hajime, are we really going to nationals?"_

_"We are Tooru. We're going to nationals. We won."_

And then they're tackled to the ground by the rest of their team, laughing and smiling and crying and even though the pressure sends shocks of pain through his right knee, Oikawa finds whatever consequences he has to face will be worth it.

And as he stares up at Ushijima's broken expression from under all his teammates, he mouths,

_"Don't you ever forget my worthless pride."_

**Author's Note:**

> hey hey hey so this is the first fic i've ever posted on here and i'd really appreciate feedback on it! i've looked for au's where aoba johsai makes it to nationals but (shockingly) i haven't come across any, so i decided i'd just do it myself. hopefully it was somewhat enjoyable for you? i definitely enjoyed writing it! if the feedback is positive i may even write more fics in the future. anyways, thank you so much for reading! please leave comments and kudos if you'd like as it would mean the world to me. i hope you're doing well and have a lovely day!


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